Welcome Lucy Jane!

Our sweet baby girl, Lucy Jane, arrived early last Monday morning at 1:56 am.  Our hearts are filled to the brim with joy; God has richly blessed us.  We are so in love with our little Lucy!

Last Sunday was the first day since I'd been in the hospital (day #19) that I didn't have any visitors.  That ended up being a very good thing because I was so tired all morning.  After having some weird cramps, I realized I was beginning labor around 2 pm.

I labored and labored, but wasn't sure if it was truly the real thing - the nurses were sporadic and not too quick to say what was going on.  I prayed and prayed, asking God to keep our baby girl inside until she reached 34 weeks, but once the nurse did confirm I was in active labor, I rested in knowing that His timing is best and that He promises to "take care of me" as Aidan and I have learned from his little catechism.

While Brian finished teaching his Sunday night class and raced to get here, my dear sister-in-law, Callie, came to be with me.  She even held my hands through contractions and while they placed the epidural.  It was then she decided that she's never having children. ;)

 Even though the perinatologist wanted me to have a VBAC, I had to give birth in the operating room because the adjoining room would have the team from the NICU waiting for Lucy.

 In this picture, I remember being so afraid of pushing again and not knowing what would happen.  I pushed for 3.5 hours with Aidan and I think, at this moment, the task seemed daunting.

 After 1.5 hours of pushing, I was bleeding and the doctor was worried.  He later confirmed that my previous C-section scar was rupturing and my uterus was too weak to get her out; I was transferred to another bed for a C-section.

And soon our Lucy Jane arrived!

 She weighed 3 lbs, 14 oz.

What a precious view - my baby girl.  She was so so worth all the bed rest and needle pokes.

We were so thankful that she was stable enough to go to the Special Care Nursery at Children's instead of the NICU.

She did receive an IV right away for all of her nutrients. Lucy has been so brave; each morning they prick her foot for blood and almost daily she needs her IV placed elsewhere.  She is such a trooper - I am so proud of her.

Happiest Dad.

Brian has been so amazing throughout this whole ordeal.  He's my favorite thing ever.

 My dad drove down right away - He's been so wonderful and supportive too.

 Andy & Callie have been so great; they live close by so they kept me company many an evening.  They even sacrificed their date-night to play Rumikub with me in the hospital room.  Callie has slept over twice - the time after my C-section she'd wake up every 3 hours to pull me out of bed so I could go pump.  Love you, Cal!

Every 3 hours, Lucy eats through her feeding tube, and I get to snuggle her.

 At first, I fed her a few mL through the dropper.  Thankfully, she comes to breast now and eats for a few minutes.  That is one of her goals to reach before she can leave: breastfeeding.  The other two are regulating her own body temperature and breathing on her own (which she's already accomplished).

Lucy needed to be under phototherapy because her bili levels were too high.  Thankfully, that only lasted a few days, and her levels are now within normal ranges.  Another wonderful piece of news is that Lucy is now eating 24 mL of food at each feeding and completely digesting it so she will no longer need her IV!  This is a huge answer to prayer.  The IV will come out about 8 pm tonight.

Aidan came to meet his baby sister last Tuesday.  I was immensely glad to see my boy. My in-laws have been amazing; Aidan loves to be there and I'm honestly not sure he'll want to come home!

"Daddy, what's wrong with her?" were his first words.  We explained to him that she's perfect, she just needs a little more time to grow.

My aunt, Kathy, & cousin, Missy, went overboard on preemie clothes!  Lucy will be the best dressed child in the SCN.  What adorable clothes - as soon as she gets the IV out, I'm going to dress her. My mom, Callie, and Andy helped me sort through and wash them.

Another awesome piece of news that Lucy received today is that, beginning tomorrow, they're going to wean her off the isolette.  First they'll just lift the top off and then, if she can keep her body temperature at 98, she'll move to a bassinet.  I am just overjoyed at how gracious God has been and how quickly Lucy is being taken off things - first the bili lights yesterday, the IV today, the isolette tomorrow.

This is a picture of the entrance to Lucy's room.  There are three boarding rooms available, and I have been sleeping in one - it's super comfy and quiet.  But when necessary, I will sleep in here with Lucy on the couch.  Yes, that is my wheelchair.  I still need it to get to the cafeteria, but I am feeling better with each day.

This board in Lucy's room shows her weight for today: 3 lbs, 15 oz.  She is now one ounce above her birth weight.

Thank you thank you thank YOU for all the cards, calls, texts, visits, etc.  This whole ordeal has been so humbling, and I have truly seen the body of Christ surround us.  God's complete faithfulness has been incredible - I feel blessed beyond words and my heart overflows.